MUSIC 15 Chapter Notes - Chapter Week 3: Chromaticism, Holy Roman Empire, Enlightened Absolutism
From MITA: An eventful story-> Book 3: The Viennese Style -> Prelude: The Age of Revolution
● European Enlightenment: The Age of Reason and Intellect
○ Immanuel Kant:: Critique of Pure Reason
■ Basis of all ethics/morality lies in union of reason with human experience
■ Anything that couldn’t be directly observed is speculation
■ reason>tradition/longstanding authority of noblemen
○ Also the age of revolution
■ Napoleon symbolized for europeans both ideals and excesses of the age
of revolution
● Rise of Vienna (1780-1830)
○ No city dominated the musical scene as did Vienna, the capital of the Habsburg
empire and center of the Holy Roman empire
■ Musicians flocked to Vienna, attracted by the patronage of the royal
family
■ Patronage started emerging from wealthy landowners, merchants and
business men;
● The musical tastes of these new patrons were progressive and
even revolutionary
■ Joseph II (enlightened absolutist ruler)’s declaration of war on turkey
caused a nosedive in Australian economy, damaging to musicians
○ Music mad city, 200 makers of musical instruments, more than a dozen important
music publishers were active in Vienna at the turn of the century
● The Viennese “Classical Style”
○ Four major composers: Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van
Beethoven, and Franz Schubert
■ Though they fit more closely with the early stages of romanticism than
“classical”
■ Degree of the composers’ mutual influence and interdependence is
unparalleled, but there is a lot of stylistic contrast and evolution
● Haydn: early music betrays clear signs of late Baroque influence
● Schubert: in song and later instrumental works influenced
generations of Romanticss/post-Romantics
○ The development and exploitation of Viennese musical language in the period
ranks among the most impressive accomplishments of Western music
● Viennese Style Traits
○ The musical language spoken by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven was
conversational with a focus on “naturalism”
■ Dramatic reversal from late Baroque style
○ Speech-like style supported by texture of theme-and-accompaniment: upper
melody supported by subordinate low voices
■ Themes had shorter phrases that mirrored speech patterns
● Usage of cadence as punctuation
○ Harmonic language more simple and diatonic than baroque period
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